TheVille

...and I need your help.

I already got a few parts I just would like your guy's input on what to get next, I would like the parts to be under 200$ each if at all possible. My specification aren't all that much, I mainly want to run games at a decent framerate.

The parts I need are

RAM
Video Card
Motherboard
CPU

Thank you in advance for any help you give.

Well first of all, we need to know what parts you got so far.

I don't really have much that I don't want to replace other than the Hard Drive and case. My parents bought me it to use as a stepping stone to make it better.

If you must know however, the parts it came with are:

Intel Pentium4 2.0 GHz CPU
1 gig of RAM
550 GB hard drive
nVidia GeForce MX440 Video Card

None of those are compatible with current tech, except maybe the HDD if it is SATA and not PATA (PATA has a ribbon cable).

What is your budget?

Here's the list of parts I use when I'm building a new computer to double-check myself that I have everything I'll need/want. Don't forget the last three - they feel like extras sometimes, but they can potentially add $300 or more to your build if you don't already have stuff you're planning to use.

Motherboard
Processor
RAM
Hard Drive
Video Card
Power Supply
Case
Optical Drive
Keyboard
Mouse
OS
Software
Monitor

In response to your inquiry about those first four parts, my suggestions, aiming for under $200 appiece, would be as follows. These links/prices are based upon this exact moment - all are subject to price change, deal shifts, etc.

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V LX A solid, many-optioned motherboard suitable for gaming, without breaking the bank. $125.
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500 Lots of power for minimal money. Since you're not an overclocker, the k version isn't needed. Currently $195 with promo code.
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600 Corsair is a great manufacturer, and their RAM is quality stuff. $45 presently.
Video Card: EVGA Superclocked GTX 560 This is much more about personal taste for manafacturer - I personally prefer NVidia and EVGA, hence this rather than a 6870, which would be the AMD equivalent. Currently $170 after MIR.

Honestly I would just wait and save up for a better system. Not worth dumping money into old tech. Do what Alizee posted when you have money.

It's also important to know what Power Supply your current case has, even though the modern components are fairly energy efficient.
I second the save up, then build philosophy, and it's also more important to have an overall budget rather than a number for each individual piece.

The Case, HDD and peripherals can be reused at least. You might be able to reuse the PSU but that's a big maybe.

I agree with Alizee on the Processor, get yourself a i5-2500 or 2500k if you want to OC. I'm normally a AMD guy but I was disappointed by Zambezi archtecture, my 6 core runs awesome but doesn't benchmark as well as it should.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115073

I favor Gigabyte for mobos but it doesn't really matter as long as you get a quality one with the features you are looking for.

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128512

G Skill or Corsair and you won't go wrong for memory

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231314

If you have a monitor bigger than 1920 x 1080 then look for a card with more than a 1 GB of mem. I personally would go with a 6870 but that's because I don't like Nviada cards.

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814127545

Now there's a very good chance that old system won't have a PSU to handle this hardware.

I recommend a Antec with at least 550-650W, high on that end if you ever want to upgrade your GPU.

I used this one in my last build, still works great after 6 months.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371031

Oni, he want parts under 200$ and we're not considering shipping as a factor.

ketchuo wrote:Oni, he want parts under 200$ and we're not considering shipping as a factor.

Average cost of Oni's suggested parts: $133.39

Probably could knock $120 off the total of the CPU, GPU and MOBO but for $120 it's not worth it in the long run. You want quality or you risk wanting to upgrade at a much greater cost.

Oni wrote:Probably could knock $120 off the total of the CPU, GPU and MOBO but for $120 it's not worth it in the long run. You want quality or you risk wanting to upgrade at a much greater cost.

This man speaks truth, back when I first put together my (ancient) PC I used a 680i LT board to go with my Q6600.
I learned never to buy the bargain motherboards, since it wouldn't overclock at all (despite being a great CPU for it) and the board itself died inside a year or two.

Also you need to check the drives, they are probably PATA in which case you will need to buy a PCI PATA to SATA adapter to have them work with your rig. It would probably be cheaper to buy new DVD drives and you can't connect a HDD with a active parition to those types of adapters.

I hate to say it but you might have to basically start from scratch. Alizee had it right, there might not be much to salvage. I wasn't thinking about how old a 2.0 Ghz pentium 4 really is...yep, I checked my old Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz rig and the drives are mostly PATA, one of the HDD are SATA but I bought that later I think.

While there is technically an overlap period between early SATA and late P4's, it's fairly unlikely that a basic system would have been running SATA in pretty much any part of the P4 era. Also, as mentioned above, a PSU from that era is unlikely to have the connectors necessary to run modern hardware, even if it offers sufficient wattage and amperage. With a system of that age, it is far better to do a complete build from the ground up than it is to try and upgrade. Only things I'd consider keeping are the case, the monitor, and the i/o devices, if they're working and you're happy with them.

For other part notes...

For a PSU, I unhesitatingly recommend Corsair. I run them in all three of my desktops, with no troubles whatsoever (and believe me, I know a thing or two about frying PSUs! ). For the type of rig you're building, I would suggest at least a 650, namely the Corsair TX650, though if you're thinking about upgrading your box in the future to a hungrier GPU (or to SLI), you'll want to go up the chain.

Running an IDE-SATA adapter is pretty much an exercise in Fail, and shouldn't be done. Besides, you'll want to take advantage of the increased speed of modern drive interfaces offered by new drives. A good DVD burner costs only $16, here, which is probably less than an adapter anyway. HDD's are expensive right now while the manufacturers milk the flooding situation for all it's worth, but a 7200 RPM Western Digital Caviar drive of a size suitable to your needs is pretty much de rigeur these days.

If you're interested, I love speccing out inexpensive gaming systems on Newegg, and I know a couple other folks here do too. If you have a budget to work with and want to do a ground-up build, say the word! Assuming four parts x $200 means you have around $800 to play with, we can totally build a respectable system for that. The combined price, including shipping, of all the parts I've linked so far (incl. 500GB Caviar Blue HDD, same drive I use as my main here) is $781. If you have a case, keyboard, mouse, and monitor you're able to use, the only thing missing is an operating system. You may have that around, or you may want a new one, which will be about $100.

I agree about the adapter, I've only used them twice with friends that refused to upgrade their systems but wanted new DVD burners. One failed within 6 months the other one still works....too much of a gamble.